Okay, first of all, I’m 86% into this novel, and absolutely LOVING it! One of my favourite scenes in an Agatha Christie, bar none, is Miss Marple’s entrance about 40% through. First, she swans onto the Fortescue estate in a taxi:
So charming, so innocent, such a fluffy and pink and white old lady was Miss Marple that she gained admittance to what was now practically a fortress in a state of siege far more easily that could have been believed possible. Though an army of reporters and photographers were being kept at bay by the police, Miss Marple was allowed to drive in without question, so impossible would it have been to believe that she was anyone but an elderly relative of the family. [41%]
And then she reveals that she’s there not to investigate the suspicious deaths of the wealthy Mr and Mrs Fortescue, but rather that of their nervous, “rabbity” maid, Gladys, whom it turns out Miss Marple herself trained for the service.
“It was the clothes-peg that really worried me,” said Miss Marple in her gentle voice.
“The clothes-peg?”
“Yes. I read about it in the papers. I suppose it is true? That when she was found there was a clothes-peg clipped onto her nose?”
Pat nodded. The colour rose to Miss Marple’s pink cheeks
“That’s what made me so very angry, if you can understand, my dear. It was such a cruel, contemptuous gesture. It gave me a kind of picture of the murderer. To do a thing like that! It’s very wicked, you know, to affront human dignity. Particularly if you’ve already killed.” [42%]
I just LOVE this image of an elderly woman managing to get past police barricades because of her fluffy pink and whiteness. And then, to have all that fluff pull back to reveal an avenging angel set to get justice for a dearly cared for servant girl. How wonderful it is that the main victims for this killer are presumably the super wealthy husband and wife, and yet it is the naive and innocent maid whose death will bring about their downfall! These passages are Christie’s masterful pen at work, and I loved every second of it.
Now for the case:
The wealthy Rex Fortescue dies at work after drinking a cup of tea. Yet the poison, taxine, is slow-acting, indicating he must have ingested it while still at home. Oddly, his pocket is full of cereal, rye to be exact.
At first, Inspector Neele suspects Rex’s much younger second wife, Adele, who is beautiful and glamorous, and also having an affair. Yet she’s the next to turn up dead, of cyanide poisoning in her tea. Then finally, Gladys’ body is found; she may have witnessed something about Rex’s murder.
Tying all three together is the nursery rhyme “Sing a Song of Sixpence,” which includes a pocket full of rye, a queen dead after eating bread and honey, and a maid whose nose is pecked off by a bird. The nursery rhyme also features blackbirds, which may provide a clue to the killer’s motive.
As for suspects, there’s a whole household full of them. There are Rex’s three children with his first wife: eldest son Percival, main heir to his father’s business; black sheep son Lancelot, who was summoned back home after Rex and Percival had a falling out, and daughter Elaine, who was in love with a man her father disapproved of. There are also the respective romantic partners: Percival’s quiet and lonely wife Jennifer; Lancelot’s independently wealthy wife Pat; and Gerald, Elaine’s communist ex-lover who left when Rex threatened to disinherit her, and returned after Rex was killed. And of course, the servants: cool and efficient head maid Mary Dove, whom Inspector Neele describes as almost performing her name; grouchy butler Mr Crump, and his grouchy wife, whose talent as a chef keeps them both employed. There’s also Vivian Dubois, the man Adele was having an affair with, and possibly the women working at Rex’s office.
Upon much reflection, I’ve narrowed down my suspect list to two key players. Per usual, I’ll type it out below, and check back in to see how I did!
Did I Solve It?
Kinda? I figured out the mastermind behind the murders, and I figured out their motive. But I got the method wrong, and my guess on an accomplice was totally off-base. There were a couple of clues that I skimmed past that turned out to be significant (or rather, I figured they may be important, but couldn’t figure out how, so I forgot about them); and at least one major clue I thought was significant but turned out to be nothing.
So, technically, this is a win, because I did figure out whodunnit and why. But I missed so many of the details that I feel only semi-victorious.
And, honestly, I’m happy about it. Because the big reveal I did not guess made me gasp out loud, and question everything I thought I knew about this case. And that, to me, is the hallmark of the most satisfying Christie mysteries.
Plus, of course, Miss Marple as a fluffy and pink and white avenging angel = sheer perfection!
*** SPOILERS BELOW ***
Literary Treats 